You Don't Own Me
by LitLover 101
Summary: All Rebekah Mikaelson ever wanted was to be taken seriously by her family. So, when she joins her father's firm, she will find out just how far she will go to prove herself. This is no easy task since she works with her older brothers and new music star client, Marcel Gerard, who will not stop flirting with her. Rebel, Haylijah, Klaroline and others.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**The **__**Originals**_**. That honor goes to Julie Plec, Michael Narducci and the CW. **

**Hello, my lovely readers. I have far too many stories in my que that need to be finished but I really wanted to post this one for some time because there are so few Rebekah stories and even fewer Rebel stories. If you have any questions feel free to ask me in a review or in a pm. **

Chapter 1: I Dictate My Own Future

"It's not you, darling. It's just not where Mikael thinks that you belong," Esther was trying to explain to her most willful of children, Rebekah.

"I shall decide where I shall and shall not belong," Rebekah replied hoarsely. Walking out of the study, Rebekah felt satisfied only when she slammed the door closed. She refused to allow her father to treat her as a child. She was not a child. Rebekah was a grown woman. If nothing else proved that then that fact she had her own house should. Yes, she lived with five other girls but that was a mere detail. Once she had her degree in law she would be able to go to work and purchase her own house.

Hurrying down the driveway, she hoped to avoid her older brothers. They were all working for their father at their firm, Mikaelson and Mikaelson. Of course, being the only girl in the family and the youngest, every one of the men in the family believed that she should just settle down and have a family of her own. There was absolutely no reason for Rebekah to want anything more from her life than to take a hand out from her brothers. Not bloody likely. Thank you.

Rolling her eyes in irritation and tossing her hair, Rebekah only stopped in mid-step when she saw her favorite brother, Nik walking toward the house with one of his many trollops. Whoever she was, Rebekah could care less. Throwing herself into a bush, Rebekah tried not to curse at the feeling of tiny twigs poking into her skin.

"I had fun last night, Klaus," the girl was whispering into his ear and Rebekah narrowed her eyes. She thought about making herself known with a nasty quip about how many girls she had heard that out of but she decided to stay hidden.

"I did, too, sweetheart," Klaus was whispering back. "I'll call you." Rebekah closed her eyes and cringed at the sound of the two kissing loudly. "Bekah, would you like to come out of the bush now?" Opening her eyes, Rebekah was relieved to see the girl was gone. But her brother was still there with that smug smirk on his face that always grated on her nerves.

"Oh, do not look so smug, Nik," Rebekah snapped, standing up and then gingerly taking a step out of her leafy camaflouge. Her brother extended a hand and pulled her the rest of the way out. Rebekah scowled and began to fix her hair. "I did not need your help. I could have gotten myself out of the bloody thing all by myself."

Klaus sighed deeply, staring at his feet before he looked up and grinned. Rebekah knew that grin from childhood. Trying to run but not being quick enough, Rebekah found herself being tossed back into the bush. "Wanker!" she shouted after her brother as he walked toward the house laughing as she struggled back out of the bush.

"I will kill you one of these days," Rebekah promised Klaus' back as he disappeared inside their childhood home. However, at that very moment she had better things to attend to. She needed to get to class. Hurrying toward the end of the driveway, she took a quick left and practically ran toward where her roommate, Hayley, was parked.

When Rebekah got into the car, she waved a hand in the air and stared at Hayley. "Where is it?" Hayley groaned and pulled her hand inside the car from where it had been hanging out the window with a cigarette clenched between two fingers. "That is a disgusting habit," Rebekah scowled and took the thing. Throwing it out the window, Rebekah shook her head. "Hayley, you will die slowly and painfully if you do not stop that."

"So?" Hayley shrugged. "Life is screwed up. Why should I care?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes at her friend. "So, how is work?"

Shaking her head, Hayley looked unhappy. "You mean tossing mail on a bunch of desks of guys who only want to stare at my ass and say shit about me when they think I can't hear them. I mean who the hell needs to do that kind of work."

"At least you have a job, Hayley," Rebekah snapped. Yes, she knew that the job was shit as Hayley put it. Rebekah had once worked in the mailroom of her Father's law firm and it had been horrible. It had been her first "real" job while she was working on her undergraduate degree and everyone treated her well. At first she had thought it was because she was doing such a good job. The employees would always compliment her. They never made vile comments about her or toward her. One day she had gone to have a lunch with one of the younger associates, Damon Salvatore, who was a friend of Nik's. Damon had informed her that everyone was so very nice to her not because they liked her or that she did a good job but because she was Mikael's little girl. No one wanted to piss off the boss. And to be frank, she sucked at her job. Half the mail she delivered went to the wrong places. The other half, who knew?

On the edge of tears Rebekah had walked out of the lunch feeling miserable and frustrated. She had turned in her notice the next day and had left with her box of personal items, trying very hard not to cry. Damon had jumped on the elevator with her before she could leave. "Hey, Bekah," he said cheerfully and Rebekah had stared at her feet. She did not want to speak to him.

The ride down was awkward until the doors opened to the lobby and Rebekah had gratefully gotten off and headed away from Damon. "Bekah," Damon called.

Stopping, Rebekah spun around on her heel. She was about to tell Damon off when she spotted his fiancée, Elena Gilbert, hurrying across the floor, her heels clicking. "I think someone else wants your attention," Rebekah informed Damon with a wide smile. Whirling back around, Rebekah began to walk away once more when Damon jogged in front of her and she sighed heavily. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? "I quit. Aren't you happy?" Rebekah snapped.

Damon looked shocked as Elena came to stand by his side. "What's going on, Damon?" Elena questioned Damon, looking from him to Rebekah.

"Coffee. Now," Damon ordered them and then placed a hand on Elena's and then Rebekah's backs, guiding them toward the double doors of the building. He led them to a café that was five blocks away and around the corner, although there was a perfectly good café with much better coffee right next door.

After they sat down with their coffees, Damon loosened his tie and wrapped his arm around the back of Elena's chair. "Look, Rebekah, I didn't mean to come off like such a jackass the other day. All I could think watching you doing that job was that you didn't belong in that mailroom. You do suck at the job but I noticed how you were always listening to the cases that we were discussing. I know that look. That's the look that I always had back when I was in law school. I couldn't wait for it to be my turn. Not just being on the sidelines." When he was done with his speech, Damon sat back and looked expectantly at Rebekah.

Rebekah could only sit in her seat and blink at Damon. She had never really thought about the idea of going to law school. It just wasn't something that she had ever been encouraged to do. At that point Rebekah had been at the end of her freshman year of college and had not put much thought into what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. She had planned on majoring in History or English or… she didn't know what.

"I think that you would enjoy law school. I've seen you arguing with your brothers. You're good, Rebekah," Damon continued, staring at her intensely.

"I don't know…" Rebekah had said.

"Well, think about it. If you decide that you want to I can tell you about some good programs and who to contact," Damon had told her and then he thought about it. "Not that you need my advice. After all, you always have an entire family to help you figure out the details."

Now, Rebekah was pondering the irony of Damon's words. Oh, yes, she had an entire family to help her get into law school. That had become exceedingly clear when her father had lost his temper after Rebekah came to him with the letter of acceptance from Yale Law School. He had simply shook his head slowly. "Rebekah, this is not for you," he had told her. That was it. The word of Mikael Mikaelson had been the law in her house her entire life. If Rebekah turned her back on her Father and decided to do as she pleased then he would cut her off completely.

This was the last term before she graduated and she wanted to finish up. Maybe she would take a year off and travel in spite of what she had told her Mother this morning. Feeling the urge to scream, Rebekah got out of the car when Hayley stopped. "Let's get a cup of coffee before class," she had suggested.

They walked into Rebekah's favorite café next to the campus. Striding to the counter, Rebekah ordered a large black coffee that could make her jittery. Better jittery than sleepy in class. She had to keep her grades up. Why? Because she was a Mikaelson. Taking a sip, she cursed under her breath when the liquid touched her tongue. "Too hot," she muttered.

"Brownie?" Hayley offered, holding out a brownie the size of her hand, Hayley grinned happily. Chocolate always made Hayley happy. "Hey, look at this. They're going to have live music tonight. We have to check this out."

"I don't have time to check out live music tonight," Rebekah replied. "I have work to do tonight."

"It's a Friday, Bekah. You have to take a night off sometime," Hayley pointed out, taking a bite out of her brownie.

"No," Rebekah retorted. That was the final word she would have to say on the subject.

Nine o'clock that night:

"I cannot believe that I allowed you to talk me into this," Rebekah growled, walking back into the café that night. She was wearing a short black dress that barely covered her arse. This was just so wrong. She had no idea if she actually wanted to listen to these people. There was a mound of work piled up on her desk and Hayley had made her put on this stupid dress. Although her roommate was wearing a loose shirt and an old pair of jeans.

"When was the last time you were out on a date?" Hayley argued.

"What does that have anything to do with anything?" Rebekah had snapped back.

"It has to do with the fact that you need to loosen up, Bekah. You're wound way too tight," Hayley had said as they took a seat in the middle of the room. Slumping down in her seat, Rebekah reminded herself that Hayley had her best intentions at heart. Looking around, she wondered where the entertainment was. They were supposed to be taking the stage in the next five minutes. On the other hand, if they did not then she could use it an excuse to leave early.

When there was one minute left, Rebekah grabbed her purse and started to get up when a tall man walked onto the stage followed by a blonde girl. They walked over to the center of the stage and the man bowed to the young woman with a wide grin and a wink. "Hello, everyone," the girl called into the microphone. "Are you all ready to hear us sing a little song for you?"

"Yes," the crowd shouted.

"Good. We always love to entertain a happy crowd," the man called into the microphone.

They began to sing together and Rebekah could only watch in awe. She had never heard anything that sounded this good. Or maybe it was just that she liked the sound of their voices. They synchronized well. Leaning forward in her seat, Rebekah found herself staring at the man. His eyes connected with hers and she felt her mouth go dry.

When the two were done, they hugged each other and the spell was broken. Rebekah figured that they were a couple and that it was eleven in the evening. She had yoga at eight in the morning. She needed to get up in the morning. Getting up, Rebekah grabbed her purse. "Hayley, I think it's time to go."

Not waiting for an answer, Rebekah turned to leave when she found herself face to face with the male singer. "Hi," he said, grinning down at her. "Leaving so soon? Were we that bad?"

"No, you were wonderful," Rebekah told him with a smile of her own. Feeling her cheeks heating up, she looked at her feet.

"So, we were so wonderful that you are trying to sneak out when one half of the group would like nothing more than to buy you drink?" the man questioned Rebekah who began to feel her lips moving against her will into a wide grin.

"But there aren't drinks here," Rebekah protested.

The man looked around him and smiled. "Sure there are. They'll keep you up all night. But I don't need to sleep tonight. Do you?"

Shaking her head, Rebekah couldn't help but smile at this charming stranger. "Marcel," someone called from behind the man and his partner appeared causing Rebekah's smile to freeze. "Oh, hi," the girl called, waving at Rebekah cheerfully even though she was only a foot away. Rebekah figured the girl was a cheerleader when she was in high school. That is if she had ever finished high school. She looked fairly young. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, you're not," Rebekah reassured the girl. "I was just leaving."

"Wait," Marcel called when Rebekah walked around him and headed for the door. "I thought we were going to have enough caffeine to keep you up till midnight tomorrow."

"You thought wrong," Rebekah called over her shoulder. "Good night, Marcel."

"Bekah," Hayley shouted, "Slow down." Rebekah only paused in the doorway long enough for her roommate to catch up with her before she walked into the cool evening air.

"What was that?" Hayley questioned Rebekah. "Did you just turn that guy down for a coffee date? Because he is hot. What were you thinking?"

Whirling on her roommate, Rebekah snapped at Hayley. "I have had enough of everyone's opinions of what I should or should not do. From now on I choose my own path." With that said she strode away from Hayley. Rebekah had enough of people trying to push her around. She would make her own destiny. That began with Yale.

**Okay, so that was the first chapter and I hoped that you liked it. There will be a couple of appearances from characters from TVD. Damon Salvatore will be one of them because he's one of my all time favs of both TVD/TO and Caroline Forbes because I am an avid Klaroline fan. However, I respect everyone's right to ship or not to ship at all what they will. I hope you enjoy the inclusions of the various cast members and the story overall. **

**Peace, **

**Jessica**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, my lovely readers. Happy TO Mondays begin tonight at 8pm (at least in the time zone I'm in). In honor of this being the day that TO premieres I decided to update this fic. I hope you enjoy the chapter. On with the show…**

Chapter 1:

Ten Years Later:

"Damn it," Rebekah muttered. Her heel had just broken as she walked into the firm's front doors. "That is just bloody great," glaring at the broken heel in her hand, Rebekah snarled. "Davina," she shouted the minute the doors opened and she caught sight of her assistant.

"Yes, Miss Mikaelson," Davina called as she scrambled out from behind her desk.

"My bloody heel broke. Can you go to the corner shop and get me a new pair?" Rebekah asked the girl. Davina opened her mouth to protest, staring at the desk across from hers where another woman was filing her cuticles with her feet on the desk. "Hayley, get you bloody feet off the bloody desk," Rebekah ordered her former roommate turned assistant.

"Get laid," Hayley snapped at Rebekah who rolled her eyes. Hearing the doors of the elevator open and close she felt satisfied that Davina was off to get her shoes.

"I see that professionalism is at an all time low around here," Klaus called from right behind Rebekah and she felt her back stiffen. She really did not want to hear her brother's opinions of how things were going in her portion of the firm. It was not his business.

"Come now, brother. I think that Rebekah is doing a lovely job," Elijah called and Rebekah spun around. Elijah had not been home in years. He had been too busy heading their new firm in London. Now, he was home. Rebekah hoped that he would not be going anywhere for some time. "Elijah," Rebekah hurried over to hug her brother.

"Rebekah," Elijah replied with a wide grin. "I have missed you as well."

"The elusive Elijah Mikaelson," Hayley's eyebrows rose as she gave him a wide flirty grin. "I have heard many things about you."

"You must be Hayley," Elijah replied, walking over to shake Hayley's hand.

"Watch it, brother. She's a gold digger," Klaus called with a laugh when Hayley narrowed her eyes at him.

"You are so classy, Klaus," Hayley snapped, walking around her desk and glaring at him before heading for the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Rebekah called.

"Lunch," Hayley called back, punching the down button.

"But it's ten in the morning," Rebekah protested, staring after her friend.

Hayley shrugged as she got on the elevator, "I'm starving."

"You're always starving," Rebekah called back as Hayley hit a button.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Let her go. She's useless anyway."

"Go straight to-" Hayley's comment was cut off by the closing of the elevator doors.

Klaus smirked as he sat down on top of Davina's desk. "You hire the most charming young ladies. Why don't you take one of my girls?"

"Because you have slept with all of them and I do not want your leftovers populating my area so that I can hear them whine about why you don't call them anymore," Rebekah replied drily. "Now, do you have any reason to be down here other than to bother my frie- employees?"

"Yes," Elijah answered before Klaus could make another remark he believed was witty. "We have a new client that Father has decided that you should take on."

"Oh, good," Rebekah smiled happily and then she felt her joy fleeing, looking from Elijah to Klaus it hit her why they were there. "He does not trust me to handle the case by myself."

"It's not really a case," Klaus told her.

"Unfortunately, it is not," Elijah added, noticing the way that Rebekah's face fell. "But you will get your time in court soon, Bekah."

"It's been two years," Rebekah moaned, sitting down beside Klaus.

Klaus wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Bekah, love, people get shot in courtrooms. Don't you think that you're safer in your little office?"

"Go to hell, Nik," Rebekah snapped, attempting to shrug his arm off.

"Now is that anyway to talk to your favorite brother," Klaus teased Rebekah, retaining a firm hold on her shoulders.

"I hate you," Rebekah muttered, shoving her elbow into his side, trying to force space between the two.

"The client should be here soon. So, I thought I would brief you on the details," Elijah began to pace in front of the desk, his hand in his pocket. The other hand was waving about as Rebekah held up a hand about to knock Klaus off the desk. She only heard every other word as her other brother grabbed her hand and pinned it to her side. "They… musicians… working… fifteen… should be… contract… good… They're here."

"What?" Rebekah called, looking up at the same time that she yanked her hand away finally and she tumbled off the desk.

"Sorry. She's a bit of a clutz," Klaus was explaining to the clients as Rebekah pushed herself to her feet. Her jacket had somehow made its way over her head. Jerking it back down, she tried to find the last remnants of her dignity when she held out her hand to the man standing before her. There was something so familiar about him. Then he smiled and she felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Rebekah, this is Marcel Gerard," Elijah was saying.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Mikaelson," Marcel murmured with that smile that made Rebekah feel like a nervous fool.

"Yes, it is lovely to make your acquaintance," Rebekah replied, forcing herself to act like a lawyer not like a girl with a crush.

"And this is Miss Caroline Forbes," Elijah introduced the blonde that Rebekah remembered from the first time she had seen the two perform.

"Hi," Caroline held out a hand. Before Rebekah could take it Klaus moved to take it and kissed the back of Caroline's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Caroline," Klaus whispered and Rebekah could only stare at her brother. What was he doing? This was not the time to be flirting like that.

"Would you like to take a seat?" Elijah said smoothly like he did not notice anything. He ushered the clients into Rebekah's office. Klaus hurried into the office to pull out a seat for Caroline. Rebekah resisted the urge to knock her brother over when he headed around the desk to sit behind it. She was bloody well going to kill him.

"Niklaus," Rebekah called.

"Yes," Klaus called back, staring at Caroline, who tucked a curl behind her ear.

Controlling her temper, Rebekah came to stand beside Klaus. "Get out of my chair," she ordered her brother. She felt delighted when Caroline began to giggle.

"I like a woman who knows how to put a man in his place," Marcel joked and Klaus gave him a withering look. Then he outright glared when Caroline placed a hand on Marcel's arm. Getting up, Klaus smoothed his jacket and then sat down on the edge in Caroline's personal space. Rebekah gritted her teeth. Klaus was going to get the firm sued for sexual harassment before they even got through the first five minutes.

Elijah came to stand by Rebekah's side. "You came to our firm to make sure that your rights to your music would be protected after you sign on with Starr's Music. We can guarantee that you came to the right firm. We will put a hundred percent attention into this and make sure that we give you as much attention as you need. I do believe that today it is a simple matter of looking over the contract to make sure that your interests are being protected, yes?"

"Yes, that's right," Caroline replied, nodding fervently, her cheeks turning pink under Klaus intense scrutiny. "Do you mind?" She addressed him, lifting her eyebrows.

"Mind what, love?" Klaus asked, leaning forward ever so slightly and Caroline looked like she would knock her chair over if she leaned any farther backward.

"Backing off, just little bit. I'm a bit claustrophobic," Caroline told him sweetly and Rebekah had to cover her mouth to keep from allowing the smile on her lips to become too obvious. When she looked up she saw Marcel gazing at her with a smile of his own, but he did not seem to be that interested in the Klaus and Caroline drama unfolding. Klaus had gotten up and was busily pouring himself a glass of water from the table three feet away. Rebekah could see by the way that his hand trembled slightly when he lifted the glass that Caroline had set him off. It wouldn't be long before the glass went sailing through the room and he began to yell. Yes, it would be best to hurry this little meeting up.

"Shall we take this out of the office?" Rebekah offered, getting to her feet and smiling at the new clients. Caroline looked at Marcel and seemed to be considering the offer. "It'll be on the company tab," Rebekah added with a grin and Caroline grinned back.

"How could we turn down free food?" Caroline replied with a light laugh.

"Where do you have in mind?" Marcel inquired, staring at Rebekah like it was very important to him.

"There's a little café near my old college campus. It's not that far away. I thought we could have a light lunch there. They have excellent coffee," Rebekah suggested, feeling her stomach begin to twirl nervously.

"Hum, I remember this girl I met once. It was about ten years ago. I asked her to have coffee with me. She ended up running out of there like I had dropped to one knee. Man, I realized after that I would have to up my game if I could scare someone off that quickly. Figured if I ever met her again I would show her that I can do better than that," Marcel informed Rebekah with a slow grin.

"If you ever meet her again," Caroline called from close to the door. "I doubt that you would scare her off a second time. You're skills are that smooth, Gerard," Laughing, Caroline left the office followed by Elijah. Klaus was the last to leave the office. They were headed toward the elevator when Hayley was getting back off with Davina. That was when Rebekah remembered that she had no shoes on.

"Davina, thank God," Rebekah exclaimed. "You're just in time. I forgot my shoes. If you did not arrive just now I would have left without wearing anything on my feet. Then our new clients would surely believe me odd." This was supposed to be a joke but Caroline was looking at Rebekah quizzically and Marcel seemed to be more interested in her assistant at the moment.

"D?" Marcel's mouth was wide open in shock and disbelief.

"Marcel," Davina clapped her hands together like it was Christmas before she threw herself into the man's arms. "What are you doing here?" She asked and not for a moment did her delight seem to decrease. If anything she looked happier the longer the rest of the group stood there awkwardly, especially Rebekah.

"I'm getting some legal things taken care off. Look at you. It's been how long since I saw you?" Marcel was asking Davina.

"I think I was about sixteen when you went on the road to start your career," Davina told him. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too, Davina. Here, let me jot down my number and we catch up some time," Marcel was saying as Davina quickly grabbed a pen and paper for him. "So, you work here?"

"Yeah, it's a long story," Davina told him.

"You'll have to tell me all about it," Marcel said before pocketing the girl's number and heading toward the elevator. When everyone got on Rebekah made it a point to stand beside Caroline with Marcel and Klaus on the other side. Poor Elijah was stuck in the middle.

"I can't believe that was Davina," Caroline was whispering to Marcel like they were not in a confined space where everyone could hear everything.

"Neither can I," Marcel replied, staring at the closed doors. When they were able to get off the elevator, Rebekah took the lead to her Mercedes parked in front of the building because she hated the bloody parking lot. She had seen too many horror movies in which women had horrid things happen to them in parking lots.

Getting into the car, Rebekah buckled her seatbelt and sighed in relief when Klaus sat in the passenger side. She did not want him bothering Caroline. This was her client. She was determined to protect their interests even if it meant that Klaus did not get what he wanted for once which was a bonus. As Rebekah had informed the group the café was not far away and thankfully it was a quiet ride there.

When they arrived, Rebekah led them into the café. Once they were inside Caroline let out an excited cry. "Oh, my God. Marcel, do you remember this place?"

"How could I forget?" Marcel retorted, Caroline had her hand on Marcel's arm as he spoke to her. They were so in sync that Rebekah could not help but believe that they were involved. "This was one of our first gigs," Marcel was saying. "I remember everything about that night," his eyes met Rebekah's for a moment and she felt her face heating up.

"What would everyone like?" Klaus called, gaining the groups' attention.

Caroline folded her arms. "Why did you decide to take up waiting tables? Because I don't think they're hiring. And by the way that you are dressed I would say that they couldn't afford to pay you what you are accustomed to."

Feeling like laughing again, Rebekah watched her brother force a smile. "I was simply trying to sperd up the process, Miss Forbes. It would seem that you're busy and I would hate to hold you back from your busy day."

"Oh, I'm not that busy. And I like to look at the menu. Consider my options before I choose," Caroline replied slowly. "It's never a good idea to just jump into a choice because you might regret what you purchase."

"Oh," Klaus retorted. "You struck me as the impulsive type," he informed Caroline.

"Caroline is anything but impulsive," Marcel informed him. "She likes to plan every last little thing out before she does it. Drives me nuts sometimes. But she's kept me out of trouble quite a few times."

"That reminds me of someone," Klaus addressed Marcel for the first time without hostility. He nodded at Rebekah and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to go order," Caroline informed everyone.

"Not without me," Klaus called as he hurried after her and they began to bicker at the end of the line.

"Now, that is what I call a match made in heaven," Marcel whispered into Rebekah's ear, causing her to shiver.

Rebekah crossed her arms over her chest and examined the way that Klaus kept moving closer to Caroline who would take a step to the side. It was like they were in the middle of an old fashioned dance and that they were the only ones aware that they were dancing. "More like a match made it hell," she quipped, savoring the way that her joke made Marcel chuckle.

"Go sit with your family," Caroline could be heard ordering Klaus who simply laced his fingers behind his back and grinned at her. "Oh, you are so irritating. Did anyone ever tell you that?"

"All the time, sweetheart," Klaus told her and Rebekah couldn't help but smile as she took a seat across from Marcel who was smiling back at her. It might be hard to keep this relationship strictly professional but Rebekah knew that she could do it because she was a professional. She would prove to her Father that she was just as good, if not a better lawyer, than her brothers.

Yes, this would go very well indeed. Rebekah was sure about it as she took the coffee that Klaus offered her when he arrived at the table. Minutes later they were in the middle of discussing the details of any loopholes that might not work in the favor of her clients. Rebekah took control of the meeting and felt a thrill run through her. Damon was right all those years ago. This was her element.

Looking at Marcel, Rebekah felt another thrill shoot through her body that had nothing to do with her job. 'Damn,' she thought. 'I am not Nik. I am not ruled by my impulses.' Staring at his fingers tapping the table top, she thought of what else she would like him to touch. 'No, no, no,' Rebekah whispered internally. 'I can do this. I will get through this. It's just a contract. Nothing more.' Forcing herself to meet Marcel's gaze once more, Rebekah forced herself to relinquish any more emotions. You couldn't really be a lawyer and allow your humanity to get in the way.

**Thank you to everyone who favs, follows, read and/or reviews this fic and/or me as an author. **

**Guest: Thank you. I hope that you enjoy this chapter as well. **

**Jeremy Shane: Thank you. **

**Guest: There are definitely not enough fics about the Original sister. She is an awesome character who I do not focus on enough in my fics, but she appears in almost every single one of them because she's one of my top ten favorite characters between TO/TVD. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, my lovely readers. Now, that the mid-season finale has aired I'm feeling grief for the character of Rebekah Mikaelson due to the uncertainty of whether Claire Holt will be returning so this is the best time to turn to FF. I hope you enjoy this chapter. On with the show and have a happy and safe holiday season…**

Chapter 3: Family Ties

Digging her feet into the deep carpet of her apartment, Rebekah sat down with a glass of white wine. She was determined to relax. Sitting on her couch, she curled her feet beneath her and picked up a file. Elijah had offered her second chair on a murder trial and she was preparing, turning on her iPod, she bobbed her head, listening to the newest song that Marcel and Caroline had recorded. It was great. As always.

Smiling to herself, Rebekah sipped her wine and began to feel her eyelids dropping slowly closed when the phone rang. "Blue tie or green," Klaus demanded and Rebekah shook her head.

"What?" Rebekah muttered, staring at the ceiling.

"This is important, Bekah," Klaus snapped into the phone. "I need to know which one."

"Which one what?" Rebekah replied, feeling her eyelids begin to droop again.

"Bloody hell, Bekah. The damn tie," Klaus yelled into the phone, causing Rebekah to drop it and rub her ear.

"Bekah? Are you drunk?" Klaus demanded and Rebekah closed her eyes, rubbing the skin gently. She needed to get a full eight hours sleep. The last time that had happened was when she was still living with their parents. "Bekah?" Klaus called. "I'm sorry. I'm simply nervous. Caroline has agreed to accompany me to a showing at the museum and I want to look my best. Please, Bekah. This is important to me."

"The blue," Rebekah told him. "It will bring out your eyes. Now, tell me, Nik, how did you blackmail the poor girl into a date?"

Hearing her brother growl, Rebekah giggled, "I did not blackmail Caroline into anything. She called me. Apparently she was planning on attending this event with a young man who called her at the last minute to cancel. Therefore I am helping her, sister."

"Oh, and did you have anything to do with this other man calling off the date?" Rebekah asked.

"What? Bekah, why would you think such a thing?" Klaus' voice was dripping with his typical smugness that made Rebekah want to reach through the phone and hit him over the head.

Laying down on the couch, Rebekah stretched her legs out. "Nik, why do you have to manipulate other peoples' lives?"

"Because I have no soul," Klaus replied with a chuckle. "I will see you tomorrow. Or not. I may be late to work. Good night, love."

"Goodnight, Nik," Rebekah replied. "Be nice to Caroline. I like her."

"I will," Klaus called before hanging up.

Rolling onto her side, Rebekah started to go to sleep when someone hit her buzzer and she hoped a serial killer stabbed them before she got to the door. One way or another she would get some shut eye even if she had to kill every last person she knew. Klaus would be her defense attorney and see to it that she got the lightest sentence possible. Knowing Nik she would get away with murder. That was the only thing that bothered her about the job. Well, not the only thing.

"Hello," Rebekah called into the intercom.

"Rebekah," Marcel called and Rebekah wondered how in the hell he knew where she lived. She had not given him the address.

"Just a moment," Rebekah called. She began to look around her apartment. Clad only in a tiny white slip that barely covered anything, she ran over to her bedroom and picked up a long black robe. Pulling it on, she hurried back to the door and buzzed Marcel up. Opening the door, she leaned against the doorframe. "Hi, is there something wrong?"

Marcel looked surprised by her greeting. "No. I wanted to thank you for what a great job you've been doing for me and Caroline. We've been trying for so long to break into the business. Your firm has really helped us."

"That's lovely," Rebekah replied. "But you could have sent the fruit basket to the office."

"Fruit basket," Marcel began to laugh before he held up a bag of coffee from Rebekah's little café. He also had a bag in the other hand.

"What is in there?" Rebekah asked, eying the bag curiously.

"Are you going to invite me in?" Marcel replied with that grin that made her want to jerk him inside the apartment and not let him out for a week.

"What's in the bag?" Rebekah retorted. He just shook his head. Reaching out, she tried to grab it but he held it away from her. Sighing, she waved him inside. Taking the bag as he walked in, she smiled at the brownie that she would ordinarily never eat. There were far too many calories in these things. How in the world Hayley managed to eat one a week and still fit in her clothes Rebekah would never know.

Hearing her coffee maker and water being turned on, Rebekah walked into the kitchen and leaned against the wall. "You're making coffee? You do know that it is nine in evening, don't you?"

"Yes, M'am," Marcel replied with a deep accent that sounded like it came from the southern part of the country.

"And you want us to be up all night?" Rebekah inquired, pulling the brownie out and sliding the plastic off slowly. Looking at Marcel, she took a piece of the chocolate and stuck it in her mouth. Savoring the flavor, she moaned causing Marcel to glance in her direction.

Grinning at Rebekah, Marcel's eyes scanned her body, making her realize that she had not tied the belt of the robe. "I suppose there are ways of putting someone to sleep no matter how much coffee they've ingested."

"Yes," Rebekah told him, setting the brownie down on the counter, she walked past him. "Or we could talk." Walking into her bedroom, Rebekah locked the door and then slid the robe and slip off. Pulling on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a sweater she walked back into the kitchen.

Marcel looked up and grinned at her. "Message received. You know you could have just done this ten years ago and then we would have been married years ago with a couple of cute kids and a mortgage."

"I knew that you remembered me," Rebekah shook her head, smiling. "And you are an incredibly arrogant man. Being married to you would be like being married to Nik."

"Except I'm not related to you," Marcel replied while pouring her a cup of coffee. "And you would love being married to me."

"Why?" Rebekah called from her position on the couch.

"Because I would treat you like a queen," Marcel told her as he handed her the steaming cup. "I would listen to your horror stories from the office and rub your aching feet at night."

"Oh," Rebekah began to laugh. "Is this what you meant by 'upping your game?' I think I must agree with Caroline, it leaves something to be desired."

"You wound me, Bekah," Marcel placed his hand over his heart and Rebekah began to laugh again. "I think that I will have to keep plying you with coffee and we'll see what you think of my game around three in the morning."

"You won't be here at three in the morning," Rebekah told him, crossing her legs and smiling in spite of her desire to behave. She was flirting with this crazy man who wanted to make her coffee and keep her up all night when she had to get to work in the morning. If she had any sense she would kick him out. He was obviously mentally unhinged. What other excuse was there for his behavior?

Coming over to sit on the other side of the couch, Marcel blew on the top of his own cup of coffee. "Nice place," he murmured, looking around. "And check out the art work. Did it come with the place or was that another gift from a grateful client?" Gazing in the direction of a dark painting of a harsh winter landscape at night, hanging on the wall across from him, Marcel seemed to be considering the work.

"Oh, are you an art critic as well as a singer?" Rebekah inquired lightly, turning her head to contemplate the work herself. It was an odd choice to hang in one's living room but it suited her feelings when she moved in. Most people her age might have hung pictures of their families and friends. Or maybe a poster of someone that she admired. That was not to Rebekah's taste. She preferred to keep this one painting in the room for company to contemplate form time to time.

Marcel spoke up startling Rebekah out of her thoughts. "No, Bekah. I am not an art critic as you put it. I do write songs though. But let's go back to whether I need to have the right credentials to appreciate that painting. Do you have to be a music critic to like my songs?" Rebekah shook her head "no" with a smile. "Yeah, that's what I thought. So, this painting here. It seems like the person that made it was depressed, maybe angry, hurt and confused. Let me guess. You're the painter?" Grinning, Marcel waited for Rebekah to confirm his assumption.

Rebekah could only stare back at him amused by the misconception. Beginning to laugh, she had to sit down her cup of coffee to avoid spilling it on the carpet. "Me? Painting? Oh, you are frightfully silly."

Marcel's face fell. "Back to the first opinion. What grateful client gave it to you?"

"Client?" Rebekah picked up her coffee cup and took a gulp before responding. "Try again."

Slapping his hand on his knee, Marcel seemed genuinely confused. "Did the person sign it?"

"I don't know. Why don't you check?" Rebekah told him with a teasing smile. Getting up, Marcel walked over to the painting. However, he didn't look at the corner of the painting for the name. He began to examine the details of it.

Turning his head, Marcel placed his finger to his lips. "I think I figured it out."

"How? You didn't even look at the name yet," Rebekah got up and walked toward the painting. Maybe the signature was somewhere other than where she remembered it to be.

"Oh, I have my ways of figuring things out," Marcel replied, even after Rebekah came to stand beside him. He did not turn back to take in the name of the painter to confirm his theory.

"So, who is the artist, pray tell?" Rebekah asked him, watching the way that he walked away from her to sit back on the couch.

"Your brother, Klaus," Marcel told her simply. "I should have realized it when you said that you didn't paint it. You and Klaus are a lot alike, you know?"

"Hardly," Rebekah scoffed, coming back to sit down with him. "Nik and I couldn't be farther apart in personality."

Laughing, Marcel sat back and propped his head up with his hand. "Oh, Bekah. Are you that unaware of what you're like?"

Narrowing her eyes at Marcel, Rebekah got up. Taking a look at her clock, she frowned, "Look at the time. It's midnight. I have to go to work in the morning. I suppose that we will have to call it a night. Such a shame." Hearing the sarcasm in her voice, Rebekah felt a momentary pang of regret, although she knew she was right in what she was doing.

Sitting up straight, Marcel sighed, "I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that for all your arguing I can tell how much the two of you care for each other. It's nice. I always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling."

"You don't have any siblings?" Rebekah asked him, relaxing slightly but she refused to sit back down.

"Not growing up. No," Marcel told her. "But my Mom started to take in kids when I was about sixteen. She would see a lot of kids 'slipping through the cracks' as she put it and wanted to keep them off the streets. I took a part time job to help with the money."

"Is that how you know Davina?" Rebekah inquired, remembering the way that the girl had reacted when they met.

"Yes and no," Marcel shook his head looking at the floor, his expression clouding over. "One night I was walking home from work. It was pretty late and I heard the sounds of screaming from the cemetery. You never knew what kind of freaky stuff could be going on in there at night but the girl sounded young. Real young. So, I ran inside and found this woman had cut the throat of this young girl. The woman ran off and I rushed over to the girl and took off my jacket. Wrapping it around the girl's throat, I carried her to the hospital which was about six blocks away. The girl was lucky that she didn't bleed out on the way there. I found out later that her mother was the woman who hurt her. So, I talked my mother into taking her in."

"The girl was Davina. Wasn't she?" Rebekah asked, wrapping her arms around her waist and sitting down because her legs were shaking. She did not know that much about her employee. Now, she knew why the girl kept to herself.

"Yes, she was. It happened when she was twelve. I left four years later but we bonded like family. I think of her like she's my sister," Marcel said quietly.

Shaking her head, Rebekah tried to take in all this new information. Taking another sip of her coffee, she realized that the cup was empty. Marcel started to get up and make another pot. Holding up a hand, Rebekah stopped him, "I'll take care of it." Walking into the kitchen, she poured water into the pot and coffee into a filter. Leaning against the counter, she yawned. How was she going to concentrate on the case tomorrow and how would she be able to speak with Davina without asking her about what happened when she was a girl.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Marcel asked, startling Rebekah.

"Sure," Rebekah replied. "What would you like to know?"

"How in the world did you get the accent? I mean you seem to have a different accent than either of you brothers. Hell, none of you sound alike. At first I thought that you were just pretending to be related," Marcel joked, coming over with his coffee cup and setting it on the counter.

Rebekah brushed her hair behind her ear and thought about how to explain this in a logical manner. It was always odd trying to give a person outside of the family some clue as to why this occurred. "Our Father decided when we were all very young that we would benefit with education in the world outside of our home. According to his own logic that meant that we children should be split up. Elijah was sent to Canada. Finn and Nik were sent to England. Kol and I were sent to Australia. Then one day he decided that we needed to be brought home…"

"What happened that changed your father's mind?" Marcel asked and Rebekah turned off the coffee maker that was beginning to pour out steam.

Feeling tears fill her eyes, Rebekah wiped the moisture away quickly. "My younger brother, Henrik became dreadfully ill. One day he was alive. The next he was not. The day after Father made calls to our schools and the next thing my brothers and I knew we were on a set of airplanes on our way back home."

Sliding an arm around Rebekah's waist, Marcel turned her around, she buried her face in his shirt and began to cry. She hadn't talked to anyone about Henrik in so long she couldn't even remember. "Shush, Bekah. I'm here," Marcel was whispering into her ear.

After a couple of minutes, Rebekah regained her composure and pulled away. Filling her cup and then Marcel's, she walked toward the living room. Taking a seat, Rebekah looked up at Marcel as he came back into the room. "Tell me about how you left home," Rebekah murmured. She simply wanted to take her mind off of her brother's death.

"Hum… Now, that is an interesting story," he said, shaking his head ruefully, Marcel took a sip of his coffee before speaking. "I told you my mother wanted to help keep kids off the street. But one day she realized that I was beginning to try to get into trouble myself. So, I was sent to live with my Aunt in this little town called Mystic Falls"

"That's where Nik's friend, Damon, and his wife, Elena, are from," Rebekah interrupted and then stopped herself from continuing.

Smiling, Marcel nodded, "Yeah, the Salvatores and the Gilberts. How are they doing?"

"Pregnant. Again," Rebekah told him with a laugh.

Marcel chuckled. "Anyway, so my mom sent me to live with my aunt, Liz. She was the Sheriff of the town but she wasn't the one who kept me out of trouble. My cousin, Caroline convinced me to put my energy into music instead of trying to kick people's asses."

"Caroline? As in Caroline Forbes? She's your cousin?" Rebekah's mind was spinning.

"Yup. The one and only. My father was Liz' brother. They didn't get along. My dad was a jerk but my aunt was great. She and my mother always kept in touch even after my dad took off when I was six," Marcel informed Rebekah.

"I thought you were going out," Rebekah exclaimed with a giggle, feeling ridiculous.

"I am so glad you didn't air that opinion in front of Caroline. We may be from the South but that thing about cousins is not how we live. Thank you."

They continued to talk until three in the morning as Marcel had promised while Rebekah felt the urge to make another pot of coffee every hour. It had been some time since she had stayed up all night but something told her that this night would be one well spent.

**Thank you for faving, following, reading and/or reviewing. **

**Answers to reviews: **

**basicHBKnomics: Hello! Thank you for reviewing. Sadistic vampire would make fantastic lawyers albeit more than lightly frightening so hopefully they're your lawyer rather than the opposing council. We will see Mikael at some point and will see at least one more TVD character in the mix. **

**Guest: I know. It's so sad and I know that Claire had left with a huge question mark over whether she'll be back I have no idea what Plec and co.'s thoughts for the couple are. :/**

**ObsessWithElijah: I try and there should be tons of fics about Rebekah. They truly did not give her enough time on TVD or TO when the character was extraordinary. :/**

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, my lovely reader. Sorry about the ridiculously long wait. On with the show…**

Chapter 4: You and Me Against the Bloody World

Around four o'clock in the morning, Rebekah couldn't take it anymore. She could feel her body pushing her toward sleep. Yawning, she looked at Marcel who seemed to still be wide awake. She wondered how in the devil he could be this perky at four in the morning. What did he wake up at noon?

"I need to get at least one hours' sleep," Rebekah told him, blinking, her eyelids trying to shut against her will.

"Do you want me to go?" Marcel asked her, leaning toward her. "Or would you like me to stay? We could snuggle." Lifting his eyebrows that playful smile appeared and Rebekah smiled back wirily.

"Uh-huh," Rebekah muttered, moving closer she pressed her body against his to make her meaning clearer without wasting her remaining energy on silly words. Speaking aloud felt like it be would too much effort. She felt his arms wrap around her. They laid down along the length of the couch. Rolling over, Rebekah pressed her face into Marcel's chest. "Don't try anything funny. I have black belt in judo," she whispered. She may not to speak but she had to make sure they were on the same page.

Marcel rubbed her back gently. "No funny moves. I promise. Not until you say you want them," he whispered back and she could hear the laughter in his tone. Forcing herself to not smack him, Rebekah relaxed and went to sleep.

It felt like a whole minute before Rebekah's buzzer was going off. It rang six short times before she lifted her head. "Nik," she muttered. He always thought he was funny with his little devil jokes. He would hit it twelve more times if she did not get up to make sure she knew exactly who was beckoning her to the door. "This had better be worth it." Buzzing the man who was the bane of her existence up, Rebekah opened the door and glared blurry eyed at Klaus' beaming face.

"Morning, Bekah. I brought breakfast," Klaus told her cheerily, waltzing into the apartment like he was the one who was leasing it. "Oh, you have company. Morning, Marcel. I see that my lovely sister made you sleep on the couch. Cruel woman that she is," Klaus shook his head as he pulled out bagels and cream cheese. "Are you hungry, mate? I think we have plenty since Bekah rarely eats that much. And since we're about four hours late to work we might as well make it five."

"What?" Rebekah gasped, placing her hands to her temples. Moving over to look at the clock, Rebekah groaned loudly. "How can it be eight o'clock? Elijah is counting on me to be with him in court at ten." Racing toward her bathroom and ignoring the men in the room, Rebekah turned on the shower. Jamming a toothbrush inside her mouth, she began to brush her teeth frantically while racing into her bedroom and laying out her suit for the day. Grabbing the appropriate undergarments, she ran into the bathroom and closed the door.

Within fifteen minutes Rebekah had showered and blow dried her hair. Jerking on her underclothes, she ripped the door open and ran into her bedroom ignoring Marcel's stare and Klaus' chuckle. Ten minutes later she had her suit and heels on. Racing back out toward the front door, Rebekah grabbed her brother by the jacket. "Thank you for a lovely night, Marcel. But we must be going."

Marcel nodded and grabbed his jacket before walking out with them. Klaus had barely managed to shove the food into the bag while Rebekah forced him out the door. Jamming her key into her lock, she continued to shove Klaus toward the front door. "Come on, Nik. Please! Move it!" Rebekah begged her brother as he moved far too slowly for her taste. "You know how bloody important this is to me."

"Yes. I do," Klaus replied, pulling his car keys out and getting to the driver's seat. "So, you're lucky I'm the one who's driving today."

"Better you than Lijah," Rebekah replied, turning to look at her brother, she had took in his glowing appearance. "I take it that the date went in your favor. And there goes my good opinion of Caroline's sense of discernment."

Smiling happily, Klaus rolled his eyes. "Rebekah, even your sharp tongue cannot diminish my good mood this morning."

"Oh, dear. She did have it off with you. Poor girl," Rebekah shook her sadly. "And I was hoping to make a new friend."

"New would imply that you had old friends," Klaus joked and Rebekah sneered before grabbing the bag of bagels and extracting a blueberry one.

Taking a bite, Rebekah groaned, "That is good."

"I see that you worked up an appetite," Klaus cocked an eyebrow. "And here I thought that you and Marcel didn't do anything when I saw him on your couch this morning."

"We did not do anything. We talked all night. Well, until four in the morning and then we fell asleep on the couch," Rebekah informed her brother with a wide smile.

Klaus nodded. "If it makes you feel any better you are not the only one that did not have the most exciting of evenings."

"Oh?" Now, it was Rebekah's turn to become curious. "Do tell."

"Caroline and I had a lovely night. We went to the museum. Had champagne. Danced to a few songs. Then I walked her to her door, kissed her on the cheek and left her to get a good night's sleep," Klaus recounted the night with relish.

"That's it? You're that happy after a peck on the check. Nik, are you running a fever?" Rebekah examined her brother for signs of illness or worse yet a break in his sanity. Well, a further break. She had questioned his sanity for some time now.

Shrugging, Klaus parked in front of the court building. "Time for your grand debut," he teased, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they walked up the stairs. "You can always back down and I'll take your place, Bekah."

"No, Nik. This one is mine," Rebekah replied when they stopped in front of the doors.

Klaus placed his hands on the sides of her face. Pressing his lips to her forehead, he grinned, "You will be brilliant, sister. I look forward to seeing you make Elijah look like an amateur."

Walking inside the building, they found Elijah pacing in front of a wooden bench. He had Hayley with him. She was whispering to him when she caught sight of Rebekah and then spoke to Elijah. Whirling around, Elijah glared at Rebekah. "Bekah," he fumed. "You know that this is very important. This is a man's life that is at stake. Do you have any idea how important it is to show up early and to make sure that we are prepare together?" Emphasizing every last word with a wave of his hand, Elijah's anger was obvious even though his voice was low.

"It was not her fault," Klaus called. "I told her I would give her a ride and my car got a flat on the way here."

Elijah narrowed his eyes. "Niklaus, keep your lies for the defense of your more unsavory clientele." Shaking his head, Elijah turned his back and strode toward the doors of the courtroom. Opening it, he gazed at Rebekah expectantly. Walking past her brother, Rebekah stared around the room.

Feeling her nerves begin to shatter, Rebekah forced her legs that wanted to shake to move forward. Stepping toward their table, she felt afraid. This was her first case criminal case. Taking a seat, Rebekah wondered when their client would appear. It did not take long before a young man appeared in handcuffs and a suit. He was seated beside Rebekah.

"Hello," Rebekah murmured. Perhaps she should have talked to him before they had gone to court. However, Elijah had discussed the case with her and suggested that it was unnecessary for her to meet their client until the day of the trail. She was not sure why exactly that was until she realized it was because he was her age. That was a ridiculous reason. Perhaps it was because the man was somewhat attractive. Of course, he would be. He was accused of seducing and strangling a woman. It was like a bad crime novel.

"Hello," the man, Enzo replied with smirk. "You must be the Mikaelson female. Lovely thing, you are," his eyes scanned her before turning to Elijah. Her brother was watching the jury walk in, making notes on his legal pad. She could tell by how tense his body was that he had heard the exchange.

"All rise, court is in session. The honorable Judge Lockwood is presiding," the bailiff called out and everyone rose to their feet. Rebekah sucked a deep breath.

"First time?" Enzo muttered under his breath with another smirk when they were allowed to sit down.

"Excuse me?" Rebekah frowned while twirling a pen in her hand absently.

Leaning closer to her when Elijah got up to begin speaking, Enzo whispered into Rebekah's ear. "Is this your first real case, Rebekah?" He drew out her name and it made her shiver. She hoped he didn't notice but the way that he chuckled made her certain that he had noticed. "You are a nervous, little thing. I really wish that we hadn't met under these unfortunate circumstances, you and I, we could have had some real fun."

Before Rebekah could reply Elijah informed the judge that their client was going to be pleading innocent. Rebekah was not sure that was accurate but decided to not object to her own teams' decision. Feeling something slide over her thigh, Rebekah had the urge to jump to her feet. When she looked over she saw Enzo's looking innocently toward the judge but she was sure that she had felt his finger on her leg.

Choosing to ignore Enzo's behavior toward her, Rebekah choose to take through notes as the case began and Elijah took the stage. She felt proud of her brother and forced the desire to stab Enzo with the pen between her fingers whenever his hand inched toward her leg and she inched her leg away. When they were down for the day, Enzo whispered in her ear, "See you soon, Bex."

"What was that about?" Elijah asked Rebekah as they walked toward the back of the room to be join by Klaus and Hayley.

"You were great up there," Hayley said enthusiastically. "I hate law shows but I would definitely tune if you were on one."

Klaus snickered as he typed away busily on his phone. "You are about as obvious as a sledgehammer," he muttered.

"Go to hell, Klaus," Hayley replied, smacking him on the arm.

"Not my fault, love. Just don't name your first born after me, would you?" Klaus told her and Hayley reached for his neck.

"Hayley," Rebekah called. "We're still in a courtroom. You can kill him after we're far away from the nice men with the big guns."

"Rebekah," Elijah whispered, taking ahold of her arm before the left the building. "Is there something wrong between you and our client? If he is doing anything to make you uncomfortable you must tell me because I will have Niklaus take over your seat."

"I am fine, Elijah," Rebekah shook her head with a grin. There was not a chance in hell that she was going to give up her seat on her first major case to her older brother. This was how she would prove herself and how she would be able to take first chair soon. She had to get her feet wet. Otherwise, how would she ever learn?

"As long as you are sure," Elijah replied with a nod. Glancing in the direction of Hayley and Klaus who were just outside the door who seemed to be having an argument which was nothing new, he ushered Rebekah outside. "Lunch?" Elijah called and Klaus shook his head.

"No. I'm off to meet Damon for drink. Elena went into labor about an hour ago," Klaus called as he began to stride off.

"Then why is he going to get a drink?" Rebekah yelled after him.

"Because Elena wants him to get a vasectomy," Klaus told her cheerfully.

Rolling her eyes, Rebekah groaned. "Would you like to go to?"

"Sure," Elijah murmured, checking his phone. "Shall we call it an early day?"

Gaping at her brother, Rebekah wondered what had gotten into her brothers. First, Klaus with his happiness about a kiss on the check now Elijah, the work alcoholic wanted to leave work early. "Are you sure?"

"You look exhausted," Elijah informed her.

"Yes, but that is part of the job, right?" Rebekah quipped with a wide grin. As much as she would like to go home and sleep for twelve hours that did not seem to be a very realistic option.

"You need to get enough sleep to be able to able to function at full capacity. I need you to be at your best, Bekah. That means that you must take care of yourself," Elijah informed her. Hailing a cab, he opened the door and ushered Rebekah inside telling the cabbie that he should drive Rebekah to her home before handing her the fare. "Get some sleep," he ordered before closing the door. Rebekah wanted to object that they were going to get lunch. Slumping back into the seat, she decided to go ahead and go home.

Arriving at her apartment, Rebekah walked inside. Looking inside the kitchen, she saw a mostly empty bag of coffee and a brownie which had barely been touched on the counter. Yawning, Rebekah walked into her bedroom. Pulling her heels off, she tossed them aside. Stripping her clothes off, she walked over to her computer and looked through her e-mail quickly. There was a short note from Marcel asking her if she would be free to meet up for more coffee that Friday. Smiling, Rebekah typed up a quick acceptance and then headed over to her bed. Collapsing on top of the covers, she fell into a deep sleep.

Hours later Rebekah found herself waking up.

Rubbing her eyes because she thought she heard a noise in the kitchen, she found that she was smiling but had no idea why. Moving forward, she entered the kitchen. Marcel was sitting on top of the counter and grinning at her. "Good morning, Bekah."

"Good morning, Marcel," Rebekah replied. "How did you get in here?"

"Let myself in," Marcel told her. He turned the coffee pot off and then poured her cup. Coming to stand in front of her, he held it out. "Would you like a good morning kiss?"

"Yes," Rebekah sighed happily, setting the cup down and closing her eyes. Feeling his fingers lace around the back of her neck, Rebekah felt his lips touch hers gently. Then he added pressure as he deepened the kiss, pressing his tongue into her mouth. Rebekah relaxed into the kiss. Suddenly Marcel's hands moved around her throat and began to squeeze. Rebekah's eyelids popped open in shock and terror.

Her vision was blurring but Rebekah could see that the man who held her was no longer Marcel. Enzo was holding her as her body sank to the floor. "I told you that I would see you again soon," he whispered into her ear when the last breath came shuttering out of her lungs.

Sitting bolt upright in bed, Rebekah found that she was covered in sweat. Getting up, she stalked through the apartment making sure that no one was inside and that the door was locked. Sighing, Rebekah sat down on the edge of her bed. "It was just a dream," she muttered. "You are fine. You cannot allow a murderer to scare you away from your chance." Laying back down on her bed, Rebekah stared at the ceiling for an hour before getting up and walking over to the couch in her living room. Turing on the light, she left it on and curled up under a comforter before falling into a dreamless sleep with the smell of Marcel's cologne still in the air.

**Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing. ****J**

**Answer to a guest review: **

**Thank you for reviewing. Sorry it so long to update. :/**

**Peace, **

**Jessica**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, my lovely readers. I hope you enjoy this chapter while we wait for TO to come back. On with the show…**

Chapter 5: Innocent Until Proven Guilty

The week had been long and frantic. Elijah's stress over the Lorenzo St. John case seemed to be contagious. Rebekah had been feeling it since the initial plea hearing. Klaus, as usual, did not make it any better. He had begun to take bets as to whether Elijah would lose thanks to making Rebekah co-counsel. Most of the lawyers had taken Klaus' side of the bet. Even the assistants had taken Nik's side in this case.

Mikael had called both Elijah and Rebekah into his office early on Wednesday morning to discuss repositioning the team.

"_Father, I asked Bekah to join me for a specific reason," Elijah said, standing in front of their Father's large desk. _

_Mikael sat, frown on his face, hands steepled. Why did Nik have to have so many of their Father's mannerisms? It made Rebekah feel as if she were talking to her hard headed father and brother at the same time. "Elijah, sit down," Mikael ordered. _

_Elijah placed his hands on his hips while Rebekah drummed her fingers on the armrests of her chair. "I do not feel like sitting Father," Elijah snapped. _

_Mikael rose from his seat. "I am not opposing counsel, I am your father, now, sit down!" he thundered and Elijah looked flustered as he took his seat. Seemingly satisfied, Father took his seat, adjusting his tie. "Right. I understand that you are trying to give your sister a taste of our work but this is not about what Rebekah wants; this is about a man's life. Lorenzo St. John could go to prison for life. You should have chosen Niklaus. Or Kol. Fool he may be, he still manages to bring in top clients and has kept most of them from living their lives behind bars." _

"_Father, if I may speak," Rebekah said quietly. _

_Mikael turned to her. "Yes, dear, do." _

"_I want this case. You're right. It is difficult. And maybe Elijah is placing this man's future in my hands but I believe that I can do just as good a job at defending him as Nik or Kol can. Just give me a chance. I will prove to you that I honor our name," Rebekah finished and watched their father, his expression unreadable. _

"_Very well. Just remember that if you fail and Mr. St. John finds himself with life imprisonment, I will not allow you near a courtroom for as long as I run this firm, do you understand?" Mikael watched Rebekah. She gulped but held firm. _

"_Yes, Father, I agree to your terms." Rebekah held out her hand and they shook on it. She just hoped she did not regret making this deal. _

When Rebekah returned to her office, she found Hayley manning her desk, looking bored. "Hey, you've got company," she warned Rebekah, pointing at Rebekah's closed office door.

Rebekah's eyebrows rose. "Who?"

"You'll have to find out," Hayley replied. "I'm going to go see if Vincent needs help organizing his files. Vincent Griffith was a new hire and worked on Elijah's floor.

Rebekah rolled her eyes before opening the door to her office. "Funny, I didn't realize we had a meeting scheduled," she announced, closing the door behind her.

"We don't," Marcel said, turning around in his seat. "But I thought I'd drop by and say hello."

"Hello," Rebekah replied, crossing the room and settling behind her desk. "I don't meant to be rude but I do have a lot to do…"

"Right. Well, when will you not have a 'lot to do?'" Marcel quipped with that smile that made her stomach twirl.

"Why?" she retorted, arching her eyebrows.

Marcel simply grinned back at her. "I want to take you out on a proper date. Something at a restaurant with candles and dancing. You look like a girl who likes to dance."

"I am far too busy right now to go to dinner, let alone go to dinner and dance afterward." Rebekah wished she had the time for everything. However, if she blew off her case, she would never get another one; her father would see to it.

"Okay. How about coffee. At our café?" Marcel tried again, leaning across the desk and taking her hand in his.

Rebekah's breath hitched. "If you will agree to leave, now, I will agree to one cup of coffee with you."

"Fine by me," Marcel replied, still holding her hand. "Tonight."

"Tomorrow evening, after work. Now, leave before you break my concentration further," Rebekah demanded, shooing him off with a wave of her hand.

"I'm going to hold you to tomorrow," Marcel said, getting to his feet and kissing the back of her hand, sending a shiver through her before leaving her alone. He was going to ruin her career.

Finally, it was Friday. The end of the work week. The beginning of the "Work Weekend" as Elijah had dubbed it. Smirking at her desk which was organized to the point that she may have needed therapy for her OCD as Hayley had been heard muttering, not so quietly in the hallway, she thought of her impending date tonight.

Rebekah felt proud of the fact that she managed to not make it terribly clear to Davina that Marcel had told her personal information. There had only been subtle changes like asking Hayley to pick up her dry cleaning or to run some meaningless errand. The change seemed to be working well because Hayley was thrilled to have dozens of excuses to leave the office.

As for Davina, Rebekah had come to realize that she had greatly underestimated the girl's talents as an assistant. Davina almost knew what Rebekah needed before she asked for it. The only drawback was now Klaus was constantly complaining that Hayley would come up with random excuses to show up on Elijah's floor of the firm. "She's always just popping up—out of the blue—with some excuse," Klaus had told Rebekah on Wednesday.

"Why do you care?" Rebekah had snapped. She had been busy trying to read the file on Enzo more closely; feeling like they were missing something.

"You know that I have never been a fan of Hayley. Now, she seems to be smitten with Elijah. I do not like it, Bekah. Put a stop to it. Find her a boy to play with. Keep her away from our brother," Klaus had warned Rebekah.

"Why do you care?" Rebekah had muttered.

Stopping in the doorway, Klaus had sighed. "She's not right for him. She's not good enough for him, sister."

"Oh, and is Caroline good enough for you?" Rebekah had challenged her brother, setting the file aside and narrowing her eyes.

Pursing his lips, Klaus stared back at Rebekah, "I do not see what my choices have to do with Elijah."

"You're avoiding the question, counsel," Rebekah replied with a smirk.

Striding over to her desk, Klaus leaned over it with the most serious expression on his face that Rebekah had ever seen him don. "Yes, Caroline Forbes _is_ good enough for me. She is far _too_ good for me. But I _shall_ have her. And when she joins our family, then you will show her the due respect that she deserves. Do you understand me, Rebekah?" Straightening up, Klaus had smiled happily and then sauntered out the door.

Glaring in the direction of her brother's retreating back, Rebekah considered the idea of chasing him down the hallway and telling him off. He had been the single architect of the breakup of most of, if not all of, her relationships over the years. Never had Rebekah been able to be happy for more than six months, to a year, before Klaus decided that her lover was not right for her. Then he would find a way to break them up.

Now, Klaus did not want Elijah to be happy. And Rebekah was sure that he would get what he wanted. He always did in the end. He had certainly managed to destroy Elijah's engagement to Katherine Pierce, Elena's twin sister. The twins had been adopted and been adopted by different families only to be brought together at age seventeen.

Elijah had met Katherine when she had moved in with Elena and Damon in Chicago so that Damon could begin his new job at Mikaelson and Mikaelson. Elijah and Katherine had instantly fallen in love. They had been quite happy until Klaus decided that he found himself attracted to Katherine. When he had decided that the new relationship was not going well, and he felt contrite about hurting Elijah, he had done his best to heal the wounds he had inflicted.

A year passed and Elijah and Katherine rekindled their relationship and became engaged. Klaus had not been enthusiastic about the idea that he would be sitting across the dinner table from his former lover turned sister-in-law. On the lookout to end this renewed romance, Klaus had found a solution in the form of Stefan Salvatore.

Befriending Stefan, Klaus convinced his new friend that he should spend time with Katherine. Pushing the two together at every turn, Klaus finally saw the two fall into his trap. One year later, Stefan and Katherine ran off together and were married. As far as Rebekah knew they had moved to the Mid-West and were quite happy. As for Elijah - it took more than five years for him to speak to Klaus again.

That was the majority of the reason that Elijah had taken their Father's offer to travel to London and set up the new firm. When he decided to come back Rebekah had been overjoyed. Now, she was afraid that Klaus would cause another rift with his obsessive need to control the lives of others. Maybe Caroline Forbes would be the perfect distraction to keep Klaus' nose in his own bloody business for once in his life.

Smiling at the thought, Rebekah walked out of the office and toward the elevator. Getting inside, she pushed the down button and was pleasantly surprised when Damon got on. "Hey there, Daddy," she teased. "How is the new baby?"

"Elsa is doing well. Thanks," Damon said, placing his hand over his mouth to cover a wide yawn.

Rebekah grinned, "How was the procedure?"

Frowning, Damon rubbed his eyes which were bloodshot. "What procedure?" Rebekah wordlessly began to make scissors motions and then nodded toward areas south of his belt. "Oh, _that_. Klaus told you. Huh?" Rebekah nodded slowly, trying to not smile too widely. "Didn't happen," he retorted.

"But you _told_ Elena that it did," Rebekah guessed as the doors opened.

"Uh-huh," Damon replied as they got off and walked toward the front of the building.

"And you're going to tell her when?" Rebekah inquired. Not like she cared if Elena came to kill Damon. However, she would like to know so that she could take the day off and offer Elena legal services, pro-bono, of course.

"Preferably. _Never_," Damon retorted. "Have a good night, Bekah."

"Night, Damon," Rebekah called. Getting into her car, she found her phone was ringing. Who would be calling her at this time of night? "Hello?" She called into the phone. "What do you mean that he wants to see me?" Wondering what in God's name this was about; Rebekah hung up the phone. Was this even protocol? Rebekah knew that her firm was all about bending the rules but was this part of it?

Driving to the prison, Rebekah stopped and parked in the almost empty parking lot. She stopped at the front desk and was told that she would have to wait. Tapping her foot impatiently, she was not impressed with the female officer's manners as the woman patted her down and then led her back to a small room in which she would be having as short a discussion with Enzo as humanly possible. She was late for her date with Marcel to talk to a creepy psycho.

"Well, well. Rebekah Mikaelson. I thought they would send Elijah," Enzo said as the officer led him into the room and handcuffed him to the chair. "Please, _leave_," Enzo ordered the officer. "I have a right to speak to my lawyer _privately_."

"I will be right outside, M'am," the officer told Rebekah. She forced him a smile and did not tell him to stay although she did not relish the idea of being stuck here with this man.

"Why am I _here_, Enzo?" Rebekah questioned her client.

Enzo smiled at her and she wanted to slap him. "I'm lonely. Wanted a spot of company. Didn't think they would be kind enough to send me something pretty to look at as well."

Rolling her eyes, Rebekah started to get up. "The next time you feel like wasting someone's time I suggest that you call _another_ law firm's offices." She was about to leave when Enzo called after her.

"What would you do if I said I was _innocent_?" Enzo called.

Stopping in front of the door, Rebekah turned around. Walking back over to him, she took a seat once more. "I would say that you were lying. However, I believe that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. So, I suppose that you could tell me why I should believe that you are innocent and then we will go over how I might help to prove it."

Nodding slowly, Enzo sat back in his seat, "When I left the room, Sophie Anne was still alive."

Leaning back in her seat, Rebekah could only stare at him. "You're telling me that you did _not_ strangle the woman that you are accused of killing?"

"Yes I may be a scoundrel, but I am not a lady killer. We went out to a club, had come drinks and went back to her place. Everything had been moving along swimmingly until she received a phone call. Then she became agitated, pacing around like she'd taken something, half-hysterical. That sobered me up a bit. I tried to ask her what had gotten under her skin but she started yelling at me to leave. She was still alive when I left that night. She threw a lamp at me on my way out the door. I don't know who killed her. All I know is that it _wasn't_ me," Enzo finished his statement.

Thinking about what he said, Rebekah made a mental note to find out if there was a broken lamp found in the apartment on the night of the murder. "Alright. I promise you that I will take a look into what you said." Enzo looked happy and started to speak. Holding up a hand, Rebekah began to speak again. "_Tomorrow_. It's late tonight. I have things to do."

"Sorry, Bex. You see, it's a little hard to keep track of the time without windows and the whole lack of clocks around here," Enzo looked around the walls and grinned.

Rebekah nodded. "If I find something, I will let you know." Getting back up, Rebekah walked to the door and tapped on it like she had seen on TV. Walking out of the room, she made her way out of the prison and into her car as quickly as possible. Texting Marcel as fast as she could, she let him know that she would arrive at the café as soon as possible.

Fifteen minutes later, she pulled up to the café and cursed. The place was closed and Marcel was not there. Feeling her shoulders slump, Rebekah walked back to her car.

Trudging up the stairs of her apartment building, Rebekah could only think about a long soak in the tub when she saw Marcel sitting in front of her door. "Hey," she whispered.

"Hey there, stranger," Marcel replied. "Long day?"

"_Very_," Rebekah sighed.

"Foot rub?" Marcel offered, getting to his feet and moving so that she could open the door.

"That would be unbelievably lovely," Rebekah murmured as they walked into her apartment. She walked over to her couch, sitting down and Marcel sat down in front of her. He gently took her heels off, making her sigh with pleasure. It felt glorious to take the blasted things off. His hands cupped her left foot first, moving over her poor arch, causing her to sink into the cushions behind her and moan.

"That good?" Marcel teased, giving her a look that made her shake her head.

"You have no idea." Rebekah closed her eyes, enjoying the massage and trying to let go of the day's events. Was Enzo lying or trying to manipulate her? He did understand that her job was to defend him. Whether he was guilty or innocent did not matter.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Marcel asked her.

Rebekah opened her eyes, pursing her lips in contemplation. "I wish I could. Attorney client privilege prevents me from doing so."

"And see, I was hoping for juicy details," Marcel told her and she laughed, sitting up.

"You didn't being coffee or food this time," Rebekah reminded Marcel as he switched feet.

Marcel nodded. "You're right. I was waiting for you so long I thought maybe I should wait to see if you showed and if you did, we could order something out."

"Alright," Rebekah glanced at her fridge door. "There's a number for a Chinese place up there."

Marcel got up, leaving her poor feet lonely for his touch. He pulled out his phone and called her favorite delivery place before coming back to join her and to relieving her of her pain. "You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine. My client…I'm not so sure about. And that is all I can say for now. The rest you will have to watch on the news." Rebekah watched Marcel as he looked intrigued. She hoped he wasn't one of those people who lived on crime shows.

"Yeah. I'm not really into Dateline. You want to watch a movie? I think we might be able to find a rom com," Marcel suggested.

"Or we could listen to some music from my favorite artists." Rebekah smiled, digging in her purse and pulling out an iPod and setting it to play Marcel and Caroline's new album.

"You are just full of surprises," Marcel said. He leaned over, cupping her face and kissing her on the lips. Rebekah felt her head spin and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss was what she expected and more. They parted far too quickly for her taste when her door buzzer rang.

Marcel got up to answer it. "Bekah!" a loud voice called. "I'm home!" Kol shouted and Rebekah's head spun to take in Kol shoving past Marcel and into her apartment.

"Kol, I thought you weren't due back from California for at least another two weeks," Rebekah cried, getting to her feet.

"Yes. I know but Father is worried about your new case with that lady killer, St. John and sent for me. I'll be in New York for some time." Turning to Marcel, Kol was acting like it was the first time he noticed him. "And who is this? A new conquest? Beware of her, she rips the hearts out of men," Kol whispered behind his hand before laughing and tagging a gulp from the bottle of champagne in his right hand. "Oh, where are my manners, would anyone else like some?"

Rebekah felt a headache coming on when the poor delivery boy came to the door. "Did someone order Chinese?" the kid asked.

"Food. How lovely," Kol cried, pulling out his wallet. "Did you bring extra fortune cookies?"

Marcel looked at Rebekah who sighed. So much for their first date. Leave it to her family to ruin the rest of her life.

**Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica **


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